Rutledge
by Isis2990
Summary: Well I really suck at summaries and this story in basically my D.N.Angel version Alice in wonderland, old fic but new to fanfiction so please please please R&R Pairings DarkxKrad maybe SatoDai in future chappies


Rutledge

Chapter 1

The room was dull, cold, dirty, and grey. A simple bed, ratty off-white covers and a thin pillow, a single locked door, and a 2 foot by 2 foot barred window. The walls and floor were dirty, the tile was cracked and broken. It was as if everything had been cleaned once and hadn't been cleaned in a great many years. The single occupant of the dank cell silently rested upon the bed, blank eyes were wide open and merely staring at the ceiling, bony hands clasped over a ragged stuffed rabbit. The rabbit was white, or, it used to be, one of the black button eyes was missing. The boy clutched it tighter.

Appearance wise, the young boy could've easily been mistaken for a ghost. Somewhat tall, about five foot nine and a half in height, but incredibly thin. His flesh was pure white, as if he hadn't seen the sun in years, his large eyes were gold and alien; slitted, feline pupils. The boy had incredibly long white-blonde hair that trailed down to his ankles. His eyes were perhaps the most haunting, byzantine, yet veiled with blatant madness. Hollow, yet so full of something. Some sort of unusual longing. He clutched the rabbit to his chest as the door clicked and slowly creaked open.

A man, looking to be in his mid thirties walked in, holding a clipboard in one hand and a black ball point pen in the other. The man had short black hair, narrow square glasses and a tall and much more built frame, compared to the silent patient on the bed. He walked closer to the bed, the blonde didn't even make a slight move. The man, Dr. Hochrot as his name tag identified him reached out and lightly touched the blonde's shoulder. Suddenly jerking away very violently the boy stared, terrified at Dr. Hochrot. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" he shrieked. Hochrot began writing in his clipboard and exited the room, already able to tell that there had no progress. There was truly no hope for the young boy.

The blonde had lost his parents in a horrible fire when he was seven, his home, everything, and everyone he had cared for had been ripped from him. The event had shattered his young and once innocent mind. A mind that had been filled with pleasant thoughts and lighthearted dreams of fancy. Truly, he had always been mad. Having had his first fall into his "other home" at a very young age. A place both wonderous and disturbing to the extremes. But, as the boy became more morbid and cruel, his world had changed as well. What was once lush was now barren, what was beautiful was mutilated beyond normal human comprehension. His friends had changed too.

Cat had became thin, with malicious yellow eyes and bloodstained fangs, he had wasted away to almost nothing. Rabit had been blinded, his body twisted into a horrific new figure. Although, he at least had kept his time obsession. Caterpillar was old and on the brink of death, still smoking his hookah. His other friends had changed too, the hatter, the hare and the dormouse. Everything had changed for the worse.

The boy's voice was strained; cracked and broken. "Please...anyone..." his complex golden eyes closed. Everyone was able to tell that he was incredibly intelligent, merely choosing to never speak to anyone. This boy's name was Krad Hikari, and he had been admitted to Rutledge's Asylum at age seven. It was nine years later. And he had never recovered in the slightest, infact, he only slipped deeper into his madness. His old best friend, who's name he could no longer even remember had stopped visiting after his third year admitted. Nobody seemed to remember him, and nobody truly cared. Many people complained of being completely alone, these people were fools. As long as someone truly cares for you, you can never be completely alone. He had no one, nothing at all. And his only comfort came from the stuffed rabbit in his arms that he would never give up as long as he lived. He knew deep down, that he was never going to be freed from his prison, he would die alone having never experienced virtually anything.

"Hmmm..." he wondered aloud. "Why do they call it after dark if it is truly after light?" As he was a creature of habit, he began laughing. Quietly at first, and then louder. His laugh was that of one with a mind long since destroyed, hollow, malicious, yet full of a desperate sort of glee. He heard footsteps in the hallway, the trademark clickng of Nurse Helen's high heeled shoes was evident. He heard her pause, even through his laughter, and she continued walking; muttering angry words under her breath. And he continued to laugh, quietly now. A loud scream sounded from one of the surrounding rooms. Krad's eyes were alight with madness.

A soft pattering was heard, coming from the cold, grey stone roof that had been there for at least eighty five years. This year of course, was 1692, in England. Krad slowly shut his strange golden eyes and allowed his mind to drift a little. He couldn't believe nine years had passed, nine years of hell on earth. In this dreary, depressing prison, Rutledge. The rain continued to fall, streaking down the small window. The light from the lightning outside lit up the room momentarily. casting eerie shadows through the bars on the window. As he continued his pondering, a shrill cry broke through his almost comatose state. "Help us!" he heard the scream inside his head- Rabbit's voice.

Suddenly, his already weak grip on reality broke and he knew nothing as he fell through the rabbit hole with a body long since forgotten. He was going home, home to his wonderland.

-

Cold golden eyes slowly fluttered open and Krad raised a bony hand over his face to block out the scant light. Realizing suddenly, that he was no longer in the place he had learned to call his "prison". He was back inside his true domain, his one true refuge, a sanctuary of delusions. But...his world had changed he noticed as he shakily rose to his feet. "I'm...home.." His voice, normally unused sounding and broken, was now fluid and melodic, regaining his somewhat German-Transylvanian accent. He looked around, surveying his surroundings. He appeared to be in a cave, lanterns casting a glow down the tunnel. He slowly began walking, taking unsure steps as he moved. He froze. Materializing before him was a grey form with no distinguished shape. Four long, bony limbs came from it, as did a knobby, bony tail with a tuft of grey fur at the end. The figures ribs showed and it's other features began to take shape. Elegant black markings, malevolent golden eyes and a wide grin. "Cheshire puss..." Krad gasped in astonishment. "You've gotten scrawny."

"And you've developed an attitude." Krad smiled at his old friend. "This place has changed, how am I to find my way?" A glint in cat's eyes. "Follow the paths, find rabbit; he shall guide you." The eccentric cat began to vanish amd. with newfound confidence, Krad began running down the tunnel. "I'm back..." he thought gleefully as he ran to find Rabbit. As he came upon the next chamber which obviously held more light, he saw a dwarf-like man, bearded and looking horrible. The dwarf held a pickaxe in one hand. "Sir...what has happened to you?" Krad asked, head tilting to the left slightly as he spoke.

"We were all put to work under the Red Queen's rule."

"The Red Queen!" Krad choked out. He had destroyed her years ago, how! What had gone wrong! Krad bit his lip "I'll take care of her then." The dwarf let out a mirthless laugh "Good luck on that." he said, obviously mocking the young blonde. He then went back to work. Krad looked to the opposite side of the chamber. "What the...?" he began, observing the wooden bridge that happened to have a six foot gap in between one edge and another, puffs of white smoke coming from the abyssal pit beneath the broken bridge. Krad cautiously looked over the edge and took a few steps back. "Take a leap of faith." the newly materialized cat purred. Krad gulped and ran forward, his large eyes clenched tightly closed and his body was lifted upwards.

As solid ground met his feet, his brilliant eyes opened uncertainly. He looked down, finally realizing what he was presently clad in. A short white cape that reached just past his shoulders, with pale blue trim, a high collar and eight thin straps holding it together in the front. A short jacket underneath the cape that reached just above his stomach, this too had blue trim, as did the cuffs of the jacket. Underneath the jacket was a silky light blue shirt that also cut off over his stomach. His pants were white with blue trim at the top and bottom along with a thick blue and grey belt crossing diagonally over his somewhat effeminate hips. His shoes were a pair of simple grey and white zip up boots. Krad blinked, when did he get these? As far as he remembered, he had been dressed only in the white pants and simple white shirt that he received upon being admitted to Rutledge's.

Shrugging it off as a normal thing, he continued walking through yet another scantly lit subterranean pathway. Towards the end of the tunnel which in itself, had many twists and turns, he yet again encountered Cat. "Every journey begins with a first step, trite but true, even here. You'll be needing something to prepare you for the dangers ahead." he purred, making a vague gesture with a flick of his tail towards an object barely a foot from where Krad stood. The youthful blonde knelt down and lifted up the object: a wicked 14 inch blade, slightly curved at places. "I guess it will have to do for now then?" Krad asked, not really expecting an answer. "Indeed." Cat replied, his eyes twinkling as he dissipated.

Krad stared at the knife, swinging it a few times; testing it. Obviously finding it satisfactory, he began walking across what he found to be thick wooden planks suspended over some sort of luminescent green liquid. "Agh, that smells horrible." he groaned to himself as he made his way across the makeshift pathway. On the opposite side was a large tunnel leading to the right and..."Rabbit!" Krad yelled happily despite everything that had taken place, and he began running.

Pulling the golden pocket watch out of his coat pocket, Rabbit checked it and, while staring at Krad; began to shrink in size drastically. Moments later he disappeared through a small hole in the wall, surrounded by red and gold speckled toadstools. "Rabbit!" Krad yelled as he peered through the hole. "I need to become small..." he murmured, standing back up and seeing a dwarf, this one looking even worse for wear than the last. Sighing lightly, his heartbeat accelerated from the joy of having escaped Rutledge's, he silently prayed that it wasn't a dream. He didn't think he would be able to handle waking up.

As the deranged blonde turned around, he came face to face with a familiar sort of foe. Quickly backing away, he brandished his blade at the card guard; a black three of spades. The emotionless guard peered at him through its helmet and swung an elongated black javelin at the blonde who had simply twisted his body to the side and thrust the knife through its stomach and twisted it brutally. As the guard began to fall, dead, Krad ripped the knife from its gut and stared at his fallen enemy. He looked down at his thin hands, newly stained with crimson blood. Grinning wickedly, he brought the offensive hand to his face and licked a little blood off. "My my, Wonderland...you've changed."


End file.
